Dawson’s Creek is a drama (1998-2003) that chronicles the lives and loves of some very precocious teens living in a small picturesque fictional town in New England. Dawson’s Creek tackles heavy-hitting issues such as mental illness, alcohol addiction, adultery, alienation, and drug use. But at its core, Dawson’s Creek is about the ups and downs of the friendships and first loves between its main characters: Pacey Witter, Joey Potter, Dawson Leery, Jack McPhee, Jen Lindley and Andie McPhee (and later, Audrey Liddell).
Dawson’s Creek two-part series finale is bittersweet, as the friends are forced to work through their issues in the midst of unexpectedly losing one of their own. Even though the show’s creators give these popular characters a satisfactory sendoff, we still have to wonder what comes after happily ever after? Here are 10 unanswered questions we still have about the main characters on Dawson’s Creek.
10. Do Joey And Pacey Have Staying Power?
Lifelong pals Joey and Dawson agree they’re soul mates, but it’s Pacey who wins Joey’s heart. Huh? Even the show’s creator Kevin Williamson told EW during the 20th reunion cover shoot in 2018 that he was Team Dawson but changed his mind at the last minute.
In Williamson’s world, the definition of soul mates is something very specific that isn’t friends or lovers, and that intangible, unknowable connection leaves fans confused and longing for more definitive closure. Pacey is content to remain part of an eternal love triangle, but how long before three once again becomes a crowd? This may be one reason why Williamson also envisions conflict for the couple after the finale.
9. Who Is The Father Of Jen’s Daughter?
Jen doesn’t divulge much about the father of her one-year-old daughter, Amy. A drunken Jen reveals her boyfriend knocked her up and left her to raise their child alone. Jen’s been ill for a while, and her health may be the reason the deadbeat dad walked out. He never makes an appearance, so either he knows and doesn’t care enough to show up, or nobody tells him Jen’s dying.
Jen hands Amy over to Jack to raise, but does Jack plan to legally adopt Amy? What guarantee is there that Amy’s biological father is just a non-factor? Maybe he has a change of heart in the foreseeable future. One thing seems certain, Jen’s daughter is destined to have similar abandonment and daddy issues as her mother.
8. What Happens To Grams?
Grams is presumably still residing with her daughter and granddaughter for those five years before the last two episodes. With her beloved Jen gone, and her great-grandaughter destined to remain in Capeside, what does Grams do? Does she return to NYC and settle for a long-distance relationship with her last remaining link to Jen, or does she uproot her life in the Big Apple and head back to the burbs?
With Grams’ age and health (Gram whispers to a lifeless Jen she’ll see her soon) being the primary reasons why she doesn’t become Amy’s guardian, Grams may require care that only her daughter Helen can provide. Since Grams is incredibly close to Jack, there’s no doubt they figure out a way to make sure Amy gets to spend ample time with her great grandmother.
7. Does Dawson Ever Work With Steven Spielberg?
Dawson’s success as a TV writer and director finally captures the attention of his long-time idol, Steven Spielberg. Does Dawson make a big studio picture? Does he continue to hold out hope for a silver screen success, and can he stay true to his auteur vibe, or will he sell out in the days of superhero franchises? Dawson needs to broaden his horizons and embrace the likes of Jordan Peele, Ava DuVernay and Alfonso Cuarón and start diversifying his casts.
Can Dawson write about anything where Joey isn’t his muse? Dawson’s regrets about life passing him by and feeling dissatisfied with his work appear to dissipate when he returns to La La land, but there’s a good chance his ennui returns.
6. Does Pacey Move To New York?
Sticking around Capeside has never been Pacey’s dream, and there are plenty of talented chefs and great eateries in New York, so Pacey relocating makes sense. But he’s also the proprietor of The Ice House, and Joey is so happy he reopened her family’s former restaurant, it’s hard to picture him dumping the place on someone else.
NYC isn’t an undoable commute, and maybe down the road, the twosome finds a way to split their time equally between the hustle and bustle of the big city and the quiet beauty of their creekside hometown, particularly if Joey stops editing books and begins writing them.
5. Do Jack And Doug Stay In Capeside?
Doug convinces Jack to stay with him in Capeside and raise Amy together. Hopefully, the citizens of Capeside don’t run the sheriff out of town once they discover he’s gay. Jack’s been fighting for tolerance in this small seaside hamlet since his mid-teens, so the only way this couple stays put is if Capeside evolves along with the rest of the world when it comes to supporting members of the LGBTQ community.
It’s unclear why Jack even bothers to return in the first place, and throughout the most of the finale, he expresses frustration with Capeside, so it’s hard to picture the couple remaining there.
4. Does Dawson Fall In Love?
With his self-proclaimed soul mate snuggling up with his former best friend in the Big Apple, Dawson appears to be solely focused on his career. His only other remotely-enduring love interest dies, so things are looking bleak for Dawson in the romance department. If being the driving creative force behind a hit TV show can’t put Dawson in the crosshairs of a worthwhile mate, what will?
Unfortunately, fans may not be surprised to learn that Williamson envisions Dawson as someone who achieves professional success but continues to struggle personally. There’s something emotionally stunted about not being able to get over your first love, but it’s really up to fans of the show to write their own endings for Dawson, and surely one of them has to be a happy one.
3. What Did Jen Do In New York?
During season 6, Jen moves to New York to be by her grandmother’s side as she fights cancer. She and Jack are happy to ditch Boston in favor of NYU. We know Jen finds out she has a heart abnormality, gets knocked up and has Amy, but what else happens to her during those five years?
She and Jack consider themselves soul mates, but there’s never an explanation as to why he leaves, and it also feels like the two drifted apart since Jen can hide her poor health from him. Maybe she becomes completely wrapped up in this man who leaves her high and dry. Jennifer’s main accomplishment is finding the unconditional love that comes from motherhood, and while her pals remain fairly self-involved, Jen realizes there’s more to life than endless melodrama.
2. Does Andie Ever Return To Capeside?
The answer to this question is yes… sort of. Meredith Monroe reprises her role as Andie McPhee and returns to Capeside to say goodbye to Jen and reunite with ex Pacey for some long-overdue closure, but her scenes were ultimately cut (they can be found on the DVD).
When the finale airs, Andy is a medical resident living in Boston, so she must have ultimately become a doctor. It’s likely Andie makes her way back to Capeside now and again to visit her brother and Amy. It’s too depressing to imagine the once super-tight siblings drifting apart to the point where their communication is reduced to Christmas cards and the occasional phone call.
1. Where’s Audrey?
Audrey is a no-show for the wedding and Jen’s wake because according to Joey, she’s off singing background vocals for John Mayer. John Mayer is still touring; whether or not people are going to see him perform is another story. Also, how does Audrey take the news that her closest friend and her ex-boyfriend are now in it for the long haul? That’s got to be awkward and likely to create a triangle of a different sort. It’s not unlikely that Audrey winds up as a middle-aged groupie for some washed-up band, although it’s more fun to imagine her as a successful solo artist touring the world.
